Washboard



July 29,, 1930. G, SHERWOOD 1,771,725

WASHBOARD I Filed June 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR GEORGE SHERWOOD ATTORNEY Patented July 29, 1930 GEORGE sn'nnwoon, on

rnnnarotrs, iirnniasorn; ASSIGNOR To G. w. van vunnn;

v oncHrrPE'wA FALLS, isconsin wasnnolinn Application filed J me 551929. Serial 1%. 368,621."

This invention relatesito Wash boards, of the type used for cleaning clothes by hand rubbing the same thereon, and the primary object is to provide a. device! of that character which is eflicient and practical in con-L struction and which presents several novel. features over prior art devices that have come to my attention. More particularly the invention herein disclosed presents'sev 1o eral distinct improvements over the somewhat similar type of washboard shown in: Patent No.1,385A42 issued to WVaPrGrifiith etalaon July 26," 1921.1 The device shown in said patent is directed broadly to the feature of incorporating in a wash board longitudinally disposed series of alternated rubbing strip and brush elements, which features,.by license arrangements with the patentees, have been carried into the device herein disclosed. The particular novel features and specific ad vantages of the present device rover that shown in said patent will be fully disclosed in the course of. thefollowing specification; reference being had to the, accompanying .25 drawings, wherein: r r v I Fig. "1 is ;,a plan elevation of my improved Wash board, fractional portions being broken away for purpose of illustration;

, Fig. 2is a sectional elevation on the line Fig. 3 is a cross inFig.l. j v

i Fig. 4 is a bottom endviewofithe board-Q .Fig. 5fis anenlargeddetail section showingthe flange 7 connection between the back plate and soap tray of the boardv F g. 6 :is an enlarged detail section of-the channel member at the lower. end ofthe wash board',wo1'-1as seen substantiallyonthe line 66 in Fig. 4:." w

Referring to the drawings more particularly and by-reference characters, 7 and 8' designate: the side bars of the Wash board, which bars are. preferably "provided withi section on the line: 3-3.:

rear flange of a channelshaped slieet ni'etaltapered lower ends and flared Supper end :asj

opposed clamping action of the side bars-as efiected by'a pair of h0ll3S 10fLDdf11-. As will presently be described these bolts 10 and 1 1 form the solesecuring means for holdingall the parts of the entire device in" a rigid assembled condition, which not only greatly simplifies the manufacture-thereof, but elimi- .nates nails or rivets, and provides a simple and practical method for replacingbroken or worn out parts; The bolts each have "head-at one end and a nut attheotherf;end

to, which small wrenches or pliers ma applied to effect tightening or removal of the bolts.

Disposed between the rail 9 and the bolt 10 is a soap" tray 12, formedof sheet metal and slightly curved with a ledgef13 at its lower end to serve as a soap bar support. At

its upper end the metalmember'12 is curved about the-rail 9 (see Fig. 2) "and h asits' end ltimbedded'there'in. i Thus the metal and wood not only reinforce eac'hbther but the metal substantially covers the entire railf'to present asmoothercompleted surfaceand as the wooden'rail -is not exposed there no opportunity for slivers'to catch in fabrics being cleaned or in the"operatorsjhands.j

The lower end of the member 12 not only serves to conceal the rod or bolt 1 O,; fronf1 above, and comprises a seap upporting ledge; butterminatesa fold orcr'ease 1Q, which grips the dependingfl'edge '16 of the upper horizontal flange 17 of aback platelg (see Fig. 5). Thus i-th'ere ji s aireinforced bracingengagement between the two main;

' be rs l2 and 18,1and noraw massages are exposed at the upper end of the rubbing section of. the device. The lower endofthe back plate l8is disposed or secured within the cross bar 19, the longitudinal edges of are inturned; as shown inFig. 6, so that no raw edge will be exposed." ends o'fthej channel bar 19-are provided with depending perforated lugs 20, through which the porting rod llis extended.

the bars, as shown at 22 in Fig. 3, to thereby brace the back plate against backward bowing when the device is in use. As a re-..

The face of the wash board presents a scries of longitudinally disposed brushes, between whichare arranged a series of corrugated strips, the levelsofwhich are slightly below. the levels of the brush bristle ends.

The. corrugated strips or faces 24 comprise the exposed faces of a plurality of chair nelshapedmembers 25, formed ofsheet metal and with their edges abutting the back plate 18 at the, sides of the fines .23. WVithin each of the members25 is arranged a somewhat similarlyformed or channel shaped member 26. These members each resemble a square tube element. the under side of which is.

slotted or open. 1 The brush blocks or backs 27 of the brushes are disposed betweenthelower sides of the members 25, soas to substantially fill these,

spaces, and the tufts 28 project upwardly, as noted, to a point slightly above'the level'of the corrugatedfaces 24.- It will also be noted thatthe upper (i. e., exposed) portions of the channel members 25 are flared out so as to completely fill the spaces between the brush. bristles, of each pair of brushes, and that. while the members 26are shallowerthan the members25 the valleys of the corrugations will bear upon the. surface of the inner chan nel so that the rubbing metal surface willbe very rigid. The brushes as well as the members 25 and26 are of course allrigidly mount.-

ed by having their ends proj ectedinto the opupper and lower ends posed'channels at the of the back plate.

addition to the matters of rigidity, sim plicity and practicability the structure as above described and particularly as illus;

tjrated in Fig. 3results in a further advantage, namely, that when the brush blocks 27- swell, from being subjected to the wash water, they cannot distort or damage any other partofthe device; Thus the resiliency of the channel members 25 and 26 is alwaysample ,to permit the brush backs to expand and contract under varying'moisture condit ons, and consequently there can; be no substantial swelling strain imparted tQ the side barsortie bolts of the main frame'as, would for instance belt-he, case with the device as above noted Grifiitlr et a1; pat

shown inv the 1. A wash boardcomprising side bars, tie

It may here be noted that the soap tray l213 is provided with drain holes 29 (Fig. 5), and that the channel member 19 is similarly provided with drain holes 30 (F g. 4).

From the foregoing description, considered in'conjunctionwith the drawings, it will be seen that I have provideda' practical construction of wash boa-rd, all the parts of which are held together in assembled position by the two bolts or bars 10 and 11; It

will also be apparent that to replace any of the elements 25, 26, or 27 it is not necessary to disassemble and reassemble the entire device, but any one of these elements can be quickly and easily substituted by temporarily removing the bolt 11 and channel member 19.

tions may "be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and'scope of the appended claimsf 1 v Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent bolts connecting-the side bars, a' series of Iongitudinally disposed members-having exposed rub surfaces-disposed between the side bars,

and a series of brushes fixed in blocks disposed between said members, saidmembers being transversely yieldable under pressure to permit expansion and contraction of the brushblocks'. 1

2. A wash board comprising side members, a back late connecting themembers and provided at its upper endiwith a transverse channel portionya channel member at the lower end of the board, longitudinally dis--- posed rubbingstrips and block carrying brushes having their endssecured in said channelsportion and channel memberysaid strips being yieldable to allow for swelling of the brush carrying blocks disposed therebetween. a

3. A wash board having a rubbing surface formed by. corrugated rubbing members and brush bristles disposed therebetween, and

blocks; to carry: said bristles, said rubbing members being transversely flexible under pressure whereby't-heywill yield to s'welling action ofthe brush blocks, to'prevent breakage or distortion of any-other part of the board.

4. A wash board havinga rubbing surface formed by corrugated yieldable channel shaped rubbing members and brushxbristles disposed therebetween, and longitudinally disposed yieldable reinforcing elements dis posed within the "rubbing members.

It-is understood that suitable modifica- Ill) 5. A wash 'boardcomprisingside bars, a

sheet metal backplate disposed between the barsland having flanged sidef portions sef cured. thereto, a series of rubbing members carried by the back plate, and channel members at the upper and lower ends of the back plate to retain said rubbing members.

6. A .wash board comprisin side bars, a sheet metal back plate dispose between the bars and having flanged side portionssecured to the bars, a series of rubbing members carbars connected by tie bolts extending from one to the other, devices'carried between thebars to present a' rubbing surface, a sheet metal back plate carried between the side bars to support the said devices, and a sheet metal soap tray between the upper ends of the bars, the lower end of said tray being folded over and clinched against the upper edge of the back plate.

8. A wash board comprising a pair of side bars connected by tie bolts extending from one to the other, devices carried between the bars to present a rubbing surface, a sheet metal back plate carried between the side bars to support the said devices, and a sheet metal soap tray between theupper ends of the bars, the lower end of said tray being foldedover and clinched against the upper edge of the back plate, and the upper end of the tray being provided with lateral extensions for locking engagement with the side bars.

Signed at Minneapolis, in the "county of Hennepin, and State of Minnesota.

GEO. snnnwoon; 

